


Darkness

by GalaxyOwl13



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Academy Era, Adventure, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Episode: s08e04 Listen, Episode: s09e12 Hell Bent, Gallifrey, Gen, One Shot, POV The Doctor (Doctor Who), POV Third Person, Short One Shot, Sliders - Freeform, The Cloisters, Time Lords, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000, Wordcount: Under 10.000, only rated T for safety, some elements from Hell Bent and Listen are used
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:28:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25515796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalaxyOwl13/pseuds/GalaxyOwl13
Summary: Theta Sigma (The Doctor) doesn't know how long it's been since he followed the telepathic call. But now, he has to do what no one else has done before - escape the Cloisters. One-shot, set during the Doctor's time at the Academy. Please read and review!
Kudos: 14





	Darkness

“There’s nothing out there,” Theta muttered to himself, hugging his legs close to himself as he rocked back and forth, back and forth. “It’s only the darkness. Nothing out there. Only the darkness.”

But it failed to console him, just like it had failed every night he lay in the barn, afraid and alone. Only here, he wasn’t alone. Theta was sure of it, just like how he was sure that he was going to die here.

No, no, he couldn’t die here. He wouldn’t die here.

 _You can_ , the darkness seemed to whisper to him. _You will._

“Stop it,” Theta hissed. His words seemed to echo through the room. “I’m going to get out of here, and then, and then…” Theta’s voice faltered, as he looked around in the dim light. Near the edge of the Cloisters, he had seen strange creatures, held in place by vines, pleading to be set free. It had been light there, or at least light enough to see. But now, only a dim light shone through the Cloisters, just enough to view the wall behind him.

“I’ve _got_ to get out of here,” Theta decided. He had already been wandering for what had felt like days, lost in the labyrinth corridors of the Cloisters. “I’ve got to just go back the way I came, right?”

Theta had an excellent memory, but the darkness seemed to press in on his mind, clouding his memories and all thought of escape. It had felt like so long since he had wandered off from the rest of the group, following the strange telepathic call. He still hadn't found the source, but it hardly seemed to matter now.

Theta tried to stand up, but he couldn’t quite find the motivation to do so. The darkness around him was filled with thousands of tiny voices. _You’re lost, give up, you’re going to die, you’re finished, done, give up, give up, give up—_

“No!” Theta shouted, the sound carrying through the darkness. He imagined the creatures within whispering it to one another and carrying his message throughout the Cloisters. Quickly, Theta clapped a hand over his mouth. Surely, the monsters had heard him now. They would be coming, coming to kill him.

“There’s nothing there,” Theta whispered. “I’m going mad, there’s no one out there. Just me.”

 _Just us_ , the darkness said, sweeping through his mind.

_Oh, you are going mad, talking to yourself like that._

_Yes, mad._

_You’ve lost your mind._

_The Time Lords will never take you now._

“Shut up,” Theta said firmly. The darkness retreated, but if it had a face, Theta imagined it would be smirking at him. “Right,” he said, building up his courage. “I’m going to stand up now.”

Working up the will, Theta tried to push himself upright. But he couldn’t—something was holding him down.

“Get off me,” Theta said, straining against the force. His hands reached towards his ankles, where he found thick metal cables slowly twisting around him, holding him in place. “I’m not an invader!” He insisted. “Please, just get off me!”

Desperately, Theta tried to pull them off of him, but they were too strong. “Really, there’s just been a misunderstanding. I’m a Gallifreyan, I got lost in here, it was an accident, really, just an accident.” Nothing. The synthetic vines just held him tighter. He was going to be trapped here forever. And when someone else came through, they’d find his rotting corpse, pleading for death like the creatures he had found closer to the entrance.

“I can think my way out of this,” Theta muttered. “Right?” No reassurances. Theta took a deep breath and looked down at the cables. He ran a hand along one of them, feeling the elements under his touch. “Too complex to be a basic holding mechanism. Plenty other things for that.” He felt the vines again, even as he continued to strain against them. “Fiber-optic cables,” he whispered. “I think. Probably. Maybe. I mean…”

The darkness seemed to cackle at him.

“Yes, I must be right,” Theta decided. “Living cables. Consistent with…” He thought back to his lessons with Borusa. Theta had been a terrible student, never paying attention to a word his teachers were saying. But he was sure that Borusa had said something about this. “Think,” he muttered, as the cables began to grow from the walls, reaching for his arms. “The stuff I saw near the entrance. I’ve just got to ask the right question, but the trouble is, I don’t know it all. This is the Cloisters, the label said that clearly enough. But…the Cloisters. What are they for? Dangerous, certainly, but what do they actually do?”

Theta wrenched his arm away from one of the vines. “We covered it. Or we were going to cover it. It was in one of my holobooks, I’m sure of it.” Theta closed his eyes, and the vine twisted around his arm, trapping him in place. “Of course!” Theta yelled triumphantly. “Cables consistent with a Gallifreyan memory bank! This is the Matrix.”

His face fell. “And I’m about to get filed. Oh good, Theta, now you know exactly _how_ you’ll meet your impending doom. Great work!” A vine snaked across his face, wrapping around Theta’s head and wrenching it backwards.

“Wait a second. This is only filing living things. I think. Didn’t see anything _not_ living entangled there. Maybe. Possibly. Current working hypothesis, it only files living minds for the Matrix. Which means if it doesn’t know I’m alive, it won’t attack me.”

 _It won’t work_ , the darkness warned him. _Stupid, idiotic Theta._

 _Failure_ , whispered the voices all around him. _Failure, failure, failure._

“Ignore them,” Theta told himself as he pushed away yet another vine with his left hand. “Alright. Gallifreyan self-induced coma. Trouble is, I don’t…know how to do one.”

Theta took a deep breath, but lost his concentration when a vine twisted around his left arm. He tried to pull free, but only gasped in pain as it wound even tighter. Theta closed both of his eyes, forcing down the feelings of panic and helplessness. He wanted to struggle against the vines. He wanted to run as far away as he could, and never stop running.

“I’ve got to clear my mind, right? I think.” But it was hard. A thousand thoughts flitted through his head, his mind filled with hundreds of voices all screaming at him to open his eyes and fight.

 _Stupid child_ , the darkness said. _You’re going to die here, and no one will care._

“No,” Theta whispered.

_No one will care. Not Koschei, not Ushas, not a single one of the Deca. They’ll just be happy they don’t have to carry your dead weight anymore._

“They, they, they’ll be looking for me, they’ll…”

_No one is looking for you. They think you’ve run away. Poor little Theta Sigma, couldn’t take it anymore._

“I’m ignoring you now,” Theta announced, closing his eyes. He pushed away all of his other thoughts, one by one, and then he was falling through endless darkness—only even the darkness was gone.

* * *

When Theta woke up, he found himself lying on the cold stone floor of the Cloisters. Slowly, he pushed himself up to a sitting position, still disoriented. “Cloisters,” he whispered, remembering. “I’m in the Cloisters, and…” he caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. Curious, he turned around. Already, the cables were creeping towards him.

Theta pulled himself up with one hand against the wall, but the vines began to wind around it, trapping him. He wrenched his hand away, and then ran, his hearts racing in his chest. Several times, Theta nearly rammed headfirst into one of the stone pillars, catching himself just in time. Then the metal vines would wrap around his fingers and he would tear himself free, fleeing back through the Cloisters.

 _Give up_ , whispered the never-ending darkness. _Give up, you’re dead anyway, just give up._

Theta stopped, hearts slamming against his ribcage, breathing labored. He could swear he saw eyes in the dark.

He could swear he heard voices.

_Failure._

_Idiot._

**_Dead._ **

“I’m…not…dead…yet,” Theta choked out. The vines on the floor were creeping up on him again, so he bolted. He was getting tired, and he knew that if he stopped again, he would never be able to move.

_Stop._

_Give up._

“No,” Theta puffed, pushing his way through the dark. He didn’t know where he was, and he didn’t know where he was going.

_You don’t know anything._

“I know loads,” Theta said. “And I’m not going to waste my breath arguing with someone who’s only imaginary.” So, he pushed onwards, his legs growing tired and his lungs burning from lack of air.

Suddenly, Theta stopped short. Someone was out there in the darkness—he was certain of it. A screech tore through the air, and Theta whipped around, his eyes wide with panic. Another screech, and then out of the shadows emerged a strange figure.

It wore the ceremonial robes of a Time Lord—orange, in this case, the color of the Prydonians. But its face was a hologram, set in an empty hole of nothingness, flickering in and out of existence. And its mouth was wide open in a silent, never-ending scream.

Theta backed away in terror, but became aware of another presence behind him. Spinning around, he could see another, and another, and another, all advancing from the darkness.

_You’re going to die._

“No, I’ve not come this far just to get killed by a couple of…things,” Theta said. But his words couldn’t conceal his fear. The creatures slid towards him, so Theta decided to call them Sliders. But even the comical name didn’t make him feel any better about his impending death.

“Look,” he tried. “I’m a Gallifreyan. I’ve just got lost here; I promise I wasn’t trying to break into this. You don’t need to kill me.” Theta stumbled, barely catching himself before he fell. The Sliders drew ever closer. “You’re Time Lords, aren’t you?” He asked. No reply. “You’re ghosts, remnants of the minds of the people who’ve been uploaded to the Matrix. Can you still think? Can you understand me?”

 _Useless_ , whispered the darkness. _Weak._

“Please,” Theta said, his voice choked with fear. “I just want to get out of here.” The Sliders glided towards him, causing Theta to curl in on himself and squeeze his eyes shut.

A second passed.

Then another.

Theta was still alive.

He was pretty sure he was still alive, at least.

“Theta Sigma,” said a voice. Theta slowly opened his eyes, first one and then the other. The Sliders had formed a circle around him, too small for there to be any gaps.

“Er…” Theta said. “That’s me. Well…”

“It is the name you give yourself,” said the Slider in orange robes. “Not the name you were given.” Theta wasn’t sure where its voice was coming from, as its only mouth was a hologram, but he was somehow certain that the sound originated from that particular Slider. He nodded, still afraid that they were going to kill him. Or worse, imprison him inside the Matrix forever.

“You will give yourself many other names,” another of the Sliders told him. Her voice was soft, gentle even.

“And many others will be given to you,” said yet another, her voice hard.

“Come, Theta Sigma,” the lead Slider said, arm stretched out to indicate a direction. “I will show you the way out.”

“Why?” Theta asked, finally gaining the confidence to form coherent thoughts. “If you’re guarding this place, whoever you are, then why’re you helping me leave?”

“It is not your Time,” one of the Sliders said, her face flickering in and out, in and out.

“You have much to do.”

“And much to see.”

“And much to be.”

“The Hybrid.”

“The Tomb of Rassilon.”

“The Timeless Child.”

“Come,” the Prydonian Slider ordered, gliding through the shadows.

 _They’re going to betray you_ , insisted the darkness. _You can’t trust them. They’ll destroy you once they realize who you are. No one important, no one worth saving._

_Nobody._

_Nobody._

_Nobody._

The words echoed through Theta’s mind, but he pushed them away, focusing on the Slider in front of him, leading him away from the rest.

“What are you?” Theta asked as he followed, desperate for anything to keep his mind from the pain in his lungs and the aching of his legs.

“You ask too many questions.”

“My teachers love to tell me that,” Theta said nervously. As he walked, he noticed that the space around him and the Slider was more well-lit than usual, and that the vines no longer reached for him when he stopped.

“We are the Cloister Wraiths,” said the Slider.

“I prefer Sliders,” Theta admitted. Then, hastily, he tried to explain. “Which was what I was calling you—”

“In your mind. Yes, we know.”

“What were you speaking about, earlier?” Theta asked. “Much to do, much to see, much to be. Hybrid, all of that.”

“Do not concern yourself with it,” the Slider told him.

“But—”

“It would not be wise to dwell on the prophecies of the Matrix,” the Slider said. “Now hurry. It is not often that we have enough energy to gain speech through the Wraiths.”

Theta stumbled, trying to keep up. “You mean, you’re not the Cloister Wraiths.”

“Oh, no,” the Slider replied. “We are. We are the minds of the Matrix. The Sliders are simply remnants.”

“An automatic defense system,” Theta reasoned. “So, if you pulled out, would the Cloister Wraith you’re using attack me?”

“Yes,” the Slider said gravely.

“Then I suppose we had better hurry,” Theta said, worried. They continued on through the darkness, Theta desperately attempting to ignore the voices that surrounded him, whispering.

Suddenly, the Slider stopped short, and Theta felt a jolt of fear in his hearts. Was the Slider’s time up?

_Yes, you will be dead soon._

_Lost._

_Your so-called friends will never know what happened to you._

“Stop it!” Theta shouted.

“They are not real,” the Slider said, reassuringly. “Only the slightest remnants of the Time Lords in the Matrix—compounded by your own fears.” Theta smiled in relief—it hadn’t turned on him. Not yet, at least. “This is the way out.”

Theta looked around, seeing only the shadows around him. His breath hitched as he fought valiantly to hold himself in place. Running wouldn’t help him here.

“The floor,” directed the Slider.

Theta knelt down, running his hand across the dirt-covered ground. Carefully, he swept it away to see Gallifreyan writing inscribed in the floor. The Slider’s face began to flicker in and out of existence, faster and faster and faster.

“Hurry,” it ordered.

“But how do I open it?” Theta asked.

“You must trace the innermost circle. And there is a password.” The Slider spoke something in a strange language, one that Theta didn’t understand, but was sure he had heard before. It seemed to hum in the back of his memory, giving him a headache.

“What does it mean?” Theta asked as a disk in the floor began to turn around in circles, grinding away and sinking into the ground.

“You will find out one day. Now go, and do not tarry.” Theta looked down into the darkness. Then, he shrugged and swung himself over, his hands catching on the edge of the floor. He let himself fall the rest of the way, sending a sharp wave of pain up his legs. “Two feet away,” he muttered. Thankfully, the pain subsided almost immediately.

Theta looked up at the hole in the ceiling, the only light in the miserable tunnel. “What was your name when you were alive?” He asked curiously.

“I was many people. But this face belonged to the Advisor.”

“Thank you,” Theta said. The disk turned, rising up towards the ceiling. Theta left off of it, watching as it ascended and then blocked out his only source of light, plunging the tunnel into total darkness. Already, Theta could hear the whispers.

_Why are you even going back? You’re not wanted there._

_You’ll never make it to the end of the tunnel._

_There is no end. The Advisor left you here to rot._

“Shut up,” Theta said. He looked around, but there didn’t seem to be much point in looking. It was shadows with no suns. “Technically, they aren’t shadows, since there isn’t a light source.” He reached a hand out in front of him and grasped thin air, then reached one out to the side to feel along the stone wall. Theta was very tired, and wanted nothing more than to rest. Fall asleep and wait for someone to find him here. Only he couldn’t sleep out here in the dark.

That was the only thing that kept him going as he pushed his way through the tunnel, even as his eyes drooped and his feet grew yet sorer.

_There is no end._

_You’re not even moving._

_You’re going to die here._

“I’m going to make it out,” Theta thought. “And then I’m going to see my friends, and then I’m going to spend class laughing with Koschei about whatever ridiculous thing a teacher says next.”

The hand that was trailing against the wall hit a block. Carefully, Theta felt around in front of him. “A dead end,” he muttered.

_You’re trapped._

“Which _means_ ,” he said, pointedly ignoring the voices that filled the darkness. “I’ve reached the end of the tunnel. Which means…” He felt around above him. Sure enough, the ceiling was unusually low. When he pushed on it, it moved upwards ever so slightly. “Yes!” He said, triumphantly. He pushed harder on it, but it wouldn’t budge more than an inch.

Theta braced himself up against the wall and jumped, slipping his hands under the hinged panel as it fell back down and wincing with pain. Now, though, he was able to drag himself up, first with his elbows, and then pushing his head through the panel.

He found that he was somewhere in the city with a white floor and a large window looking out over the rest of the Citadel. It was night out, with both of Gallifrey’s suns having set below the horizon long ago. Theta knew many of the stars, having been forced to memorize their names for his lessons.

Carefully, he pulled the rest of himself out of the tunnel, muscles aching with exertion. When he was finally free, the trapdoor shut. Theta tried to pull it up again, but it had sealed seamlessly with the floor.

Theta wasn’t sure how long he sat there, resting his head against the nearest wall and staring out at the night sky, any will to move long gone. Eventually, someone came along, wearing the clothing of a full Time Lord. She had long white hair and tired green eyes, her shoulders were slumped and tired.

As soon as she saw him, she spoke into something on her wrist. “We have an intruder on level 4. Young, wearing Academy robes.”

Theta forced himself to stand up. “I’m Theta Sigma,” he introduced himself. “Do you think you could take me back there?”

Her eyes widened. “You’re that missing boy from the Academy!” She said.

“How long was I gone?” Theta asked, realizing that he didn’t know. He felt like he had been wandering the Matrix for days before the vines had attacked. And then he had gone into that coma for Rassilon-knows how long.

“Four days,” she said quietly. “And you were last seen on the security cameras going into the Cloisters.”

Theta nodded.

“We found that boy from the Academy,” she reported. “Theta Sigma.”

A hologram of an old man wearing Time Lord robes sprung from it. “Did you even ask his name, Daphenetrarea?”

Theta thought he saw her roll her eyes in response. “Yes. He said so himself.”

There was a pause. “Hold on a moment—I’ll pass you through to Borusa…”

* * *

Theta stood outside the Citadel as the group walked towards him and the Time Lady. Millenia was the first to rush forwards, running ahead of the others to give Theta a huge hug, which he squirmed out of.

All of them were in their nightclothes, other than Borusa, whom the Deca were convinced didn’t sleep, and Koschei, who wouldn’t be caught dead wearing anything other than proper student robes. “We thought you were dead, silly,” Millenia said.

“We were going to have a proper funeral and everything,” Ushas added, rolling her eyes. “Not that we could have much of one, without a body to—”

“Shut up, Ushas,” Rallon said.

“Four days,” Koschei said. “You were gone four days, Theta.”

Theta nervously ran a hand through his curly hair. “Well, I wasn’t trying to.”

“We must return to the Academy,” Borusa said. “Or else you’ll be missing your morning lessons, which I’m certain you would absolutely hate.”

“I think being presumed dead would be more than enough excuse to have a day off, sir,” Drax muttered.

Theta laughed a little at that, which got Ushas rolling her eyes again.

The first of the two Gallifreyan suns was beginning to peek over the horizon, shedding a warm glow through the burnt orange sky. Theta had never been so glad to see the morning come as then.

As he trudged through the orange sands, back towards the Academy, Theta let a smile light across his face. He felt as if he was glowing even brighter than the second sun that was rising in Gallifrey’s sky, chasing away the darkness.

_Except it never really goes away._

Theta shivered despite the warmth, his long shadow trailing behind him as he walked away from the shining Citadel.


End file.
